No In-Between
by Blue Teller
Summary: Merlin protects Arthur with magic once again, but this time the prince sees it. Arthur intends to banish his manservant to spare him, but Merlin has none of it. Once you have to make a decision of life and death, there is no in-between. (A reveal fic, told in dialogue only)


"...Merlin?"

"...Arthur."

"..."

"..."

"Merlin, please tell me- That wasn't-"

"..."

"You... you're a sorcerer."

"Arthur-"

"Leave."

"What?"

"Leave, Merlin! Get out of here."

"You're... banishing me?"

"Yes. And better make sure I never see you in Camelot again."

"...No."

"What did you say?"

"No. I am not leaving."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I am not!"

"Merlin, go away or so help me-"

"What are you going to do, kill me? Why not? I am a sorcerer afterall, that's what I deserve, isn't that right?"

"You betrayed me-!"

"Oh a traitor, am I, Arthur?!"

"W-what are you doing!?"

"I'm forcing you to listen to me, that's what! Even if it takes putting your sword to my neck to get through to you. Arthur, I may be a liar and I might be a sorcerer, but I am not a traitor. I have saved your life more times than I could count, including just a moment ago. I've been serving and protecting you ever since the day I saved you for the first time, and I did it all with magic."

"You..."

"Do you have any idea how hard it was, Arthur? To conceal things from you, to pretend to be an incompetent, helpless idiot, while you scoffed at me and riddiculed me and told me again and again that magic is evil, that what I am is evil and cannot be trusted, and to be unable to do anything about it?!"

"Why did you do it, then? To gain my trust?"

"For what purpose?! If I wanted to kill you, sire, I could have just stepped aside when that sorceress threw a dagger at you. If my service to you, everything I've ever done for you, were all just a wicked scheme to gain your trust, then there were a hundred easier ways to do that! If it was my purpose to control you in any way, why wouldn't I just cast a spell on you from the beginning?

How can you possibly believe that our friendship is based on a lie while you freely hold your sword at my throat?!"

"But you could stop me, couldn't you Merlin? You can defend yourself with your magic."

"I could, true. But I would never use my magic against you."

"No? Not even to save your life?"

"Never."

"..."

"..."

"...Why are you doing this?"

"To make you choose."

"What...?"

"Arthur. You cannot banish me."

"I can and I will, Merlin. That is not your decision to make."

"It is, and no, you cannot. If I leave, who will protect you?"

"Oh I don't know, Merlin, myself? My knights? In fact, anyone but a sorcerer!"

"I'm talking about magical threats, clotpole! You don't realize how many times you've survived only because you had magic on your side, do you!"

"So what, you expect me to believe I don't own any of my victories, that they were all thanks to you?"

"Don't be a prat, Arthur, of course not! You are a warrior in your own right and you are brave. But you cannot fight magic on your own. There's been so many times when magical threats came and you weren't even aware of them. I can't leave you unprotected Arthur."

"That is no longer your concern."

"Like hell it isn't! You are destined to become the gratest king this land will ever see. It is my destiny to serve and protect you, and I can't do that if I'm away from Camelot. Banishing won't solve anything Arthur. You're just running away."

"Running away from what?!"

"Making up your mind about magic."

"Well, what would you have me do? Lift the ban? Invite sorcery into Camelot?!"

"Maybe not immediately. The people of Camelot are terrfied of magic, and for a good reason. After the Purge, vengeful sorcerers attacked again and again out of sheer desperation, spreading distrust and fear. It would take time, but one day, this land will become united under your rule, and magic will become free once again."

"That's insane."

"You can do it. But first, you must make a choice. You are holding my life in your hands, Arthur. If you drive your sword through me, I won't fight you. I will not stop you. But this is about more than just killing or sparing me. I am not an ordinary sorcerer, I was born with magic. I could levitate objects with my mind before I learned how to crawl."

"...You're lying. You have to be."

"I'm not. For once in my life, Arthur, I'm telling you the absolute truth. I don't have magic, I am magic. You have the purest form of magic in the world at sword point, Arthur. If you slay me, you'll destroy magic once and for all. But... if you decide to spare me, you'll be allowing magic to live. No one can force you to lift the ban, but if you accept me, sire, you'll be accepting magic. And if you do, I swear I will serve and protect you with everything I have for the rest of my days."

"..."

"..."

"I... can't."

"You can. And you must. Are you a coward, Arthur?"

"NO!"

"Then prove it! Don't run away from this, face it like a knight and a Future King of Camelot!"

"Merlin..."

"..."

"You... you'd really let me kill you, wouldn't you? How can you not be scared?"

"Oh, Arthur, are you blind? I am."

"You're... trembling."

"Surprised? I'm terrified, Arthur. But... you're my friend. I've always wanted to tell you, but I never knew how. It had nothing to do with trust. And, I trust you. I trust you to listen to your heart and do the right thing."

"I could still just banish you."

"That won't solve anything and you know it! You're just delaying your decision. You can't spare my life and cast me aside at the same time! I exist for you, I am destined to serve you!"

"Is that what's it's all about, then? You're not loyal to me, your loyal to this supposed destiny."

"You absolute dollophead. Have you not been listening? I'm loyal to you because your my friend, and it's the reason why I believe in you. I believe you want the best for your people and that you truly care for them. You are a strong, brave prince and I have no doubt that one day you'll grow into an even stronger, braver king full of wisdom and justice."

"How am I supposed to believe any of this...? You're a sorcerer."

"Your sorcerer. Your manservant. Your friend."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...

"...Thank you, Arthur."

"..."

"..."

"I'm still angry with you."

"I know."

"I'm serious, Merlin, I'm furious. You've been lying to me since we met."

"I have."

"You've been using magic behind my back all this time. And you did it to protect me."

"Yes.

"I don't know if I can trust you anymore. I probably can't, seeing as I don't really know you, do I?"

"I am the same person, Arthur. None of me that you knew was fake. Yes, I concealed my magic from you, but... aside form that, it was all me. It was always me."

"So... you're really a clumsy, idiotic, incompetent manservant who also happens to be semi-decent sorcerer?"

"Please, Arthur. I'm a great sorcerer!"

"For some reason, I find that difficult to believe."

"Hey! I'm actually really powerful, you prat."

"Sure you are, Merlin."

"You want me to prove it?"

"No! No, that won't be necessary."

"...Arthur?"

"Listen, Merlin, just because I decided to... leave you be for the time being doesn't mean I'm just alright with this magic business. So just... don't."

"I understand. Thank you, Arthur."

"For what?"

"For not killing me."

"I couldn't just kill you, Merlin."

"Even so, thank you. I swear to you, I will never break my oath. I'm happy to be your servant till the day I die."

"You said something like that... once."

"Yes. I honestly thought it would be the last thing I would ever say to you. I wanted it to be... meaningful."

"Last thing... what? What are you talking about, Merlin?"

"Uhm... It's nothing. I just..."

"Merlin."

"Yes?"

"You better tell me everything."

* * *

"You weren't going to tell me."

"No, I wasn't."

"Dammit, Merlin! You keep doing things like that!"

"What?"

"That! Trying to bloody sacrifice youself and acting like it's not a big deal! You did it just now, and you did it at least twice as far as I know, with the poisoned chalice incident! I forbid you to do something like that ever again!"

"You're forbidding me to protect you?!"

"No you idiot, I'm forbidding you to sacrifice yourself for me!"

"I can't just stand aside when you're in danger, Arthur! I can't lose you!"

"Well, I can't lose you either, so there!"

"..."

"..."

"...You really mean it?"

"Tch. Don't be such a girl, Merlin."

"You do. You do mean it."

"...Shut up."

"Who knew after all this time, this tough facade of a distant prince hid such a tender heart."

"Merlin."

"I'm so moved! I'm going to faint."

"Merlin!"

"I shall hug you now."

"What, no!"

"Come on, Arthur! Accept my warm hug of friendship!"

"Stay away from me, you crazy sorcerer!"

"I'm a warlock!"

"Whatever! You're still crazy!"

"You cannot escape my sincere embrace, Arthur Pendragon! Before this day is over, I shall have my hug!"

"Over my dead body!"

"Aaaah! Enough, enough!"

"You will never pull a stunt like this ever again, are we clear?"

"Yes, Arthur, now let me go, please!"

"You know what, Merlin, you were right."

"About what?"

"You may have magic, but you really are still just an idiot."

"Prat."

"Lazybones."

"Cabbagehead."

"Moron sorcerer."

"Dollophead."

"Overprotective motherhen."

"Softie!"

"Get back here this instant, Merlin!"

"Only if you catch me, sire!"

"MERLIN!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**So... this has been sitting in my folder for a long time. ****It's crazy, but it's been exactly a year without a week. Yep. And it's finally getting published now, basically not changed at all since the day I wrote it, because - why not?**

**I originally planned to fill the gaps with descriptions from Arthur's point of view, Merlin grabbing the blade of Arthur's sword, pulling it close to his neck, Arthur being terrified for and furious at Merlin at the same time... but somehow, I like this much better. You can fill the gaps yourselves, imagining the scene however you like. In my mind, Arthur saw Merlin killing a magical creature of some kind and they're the only ones there, that's why Arthur made the split-second decision to banish Merlin instead of trying to kill or interrogating him. He thought he'd spare Merlin that way. Merlin definitely wasn't going to leave things like that between them.**

**Did you like it? Or is it horrible without descriptions after all? You decide!**

**Please follow, add to favorites and leave a comment if you can, but most importantly - read on and enjoy! :)**


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